Combat aircraft

with the French Damoclès targeting pod

ahead of the formal P1Eb clearances,

which subsequently added Paveway IV.

To add kudos, both the RAF and

the RSAF had the chance to validate

P1Eb in combat. The RAF deployed its

latest-standard Typhoons to Cyprus to

join Operation ‘Shader’ in late 2014 and

immediately began  ying missions over

Iraq, then Syria. The RSAF had already

been  ying periodic sorties against

so-called Islamic State (IS) and it also

put its Typhoons to work in operations

over Yemen.

Whereas the Tranche 1 jets that went

into combat in Libya in 2011 had a

relatively rudimentary UK-only air-to-

surface capability, Operation ‘Shader’ saw

the RAF  ying a fully functioning multi-

role Tranche 2 Typhoon, harnessing the

HMSS (helmet-mounted sighting system),

the Litening III pod, the Paveway IV bomb

and other cockpit display re nements.

Typhoon ‘Centurion’

At the Farnborough International Air

Show in 2014, Euro ghter made a

number of notable announcements,

all of which were crucial to building

upon P1Eb. Importantly, they included

the signing of an integration contract

for the MBDA Storm Shadow stand-

o cruise missile that included BAE

Systems, Airbus Defence and Space and

Leonardo collaborating to integrate

the weapon under the so-called Phase

2 Enhancement (P2E). As well as Storm

Shadow, this phase would bring in the

long-awaited ‘big stick’ of the MBDA

Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air

missile (BVRAAM).

With both Meteor and Storm Shadow

work on contract, the RAF was realizing

its ambitions for a coherent path towards

replacing the Tornado GR4. Adding

MBDA’s Dual-Mode Seeker (DMS)

Brimstone to the Typhoon under the

follow-on P3E completed the picture.

Project ‘Centurion’ was born.

that was struggling to attract new

export sales. At the same time, top

export customer Saudi Arabia was

pressing ahead with swing-role

ambitions for its 72 jets. Indeed, the

Royal Saudi Air Force was seen as being

every bit as forward-leaning as the RAF

when it came to Typhoon capability. The

wind was back in the Typhoon’s sails

and the UK in particular was helping to

both garner international interest and

develop the aircraft’s capability.

Phased enhancement

Through a fog of di erent acronyms and

buzz-phrases, Phase 1 Enhancement

(or P1E) emerged as the  rst big step

towards taking the Typhoon into the

important swing-role environment. The

previous air-to-ground initiative from

the RAF had been a national e ort for

the early Tranche 1 jets, whereas P1E

was aimed squarely and coherently at

the more advanced Tranche 2 Typhoons

and beyond.

While P1E was a signi cant step, it

was painfully slow. The initial contract

was signed on March 30, 2007 but it

took until late 2014 to reach the front

line. P1E was divided into two stages —

P1Ea and P1Eb. In the event, only the

RAF opted to take delivery of a small

number of P1Ea-upgraded in-service

aircraft, with other nations taking

P1Ea as an ‘inline  t’ for new Tranche 3

aircraft. It was quickly superseded by the

re ned P1Eb.

In broad terms, P1Eb added the

Paveway IV precision-guided bomb for

the UK, GBU-48 for the Luftwa e and

EGBU-16 for Italy and Spain, plus the

Litening III laser designator pod (LDP).

The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) actually

led the way regarding air-to-ground

capabilities for Tranche 2 jets. It hastily

sought a Paveway II clearance in tandem

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